Bedroom Bully by Harper West

15

Rebecca

After dealingwith the drama of my parents all weekend and dealing with the bullshit blunder I’d made with the company card, I found myself in a great position Monday morning. I had my toys, they looked as if they had been returned on the company credit card, and my parents were in high spirits. We met up for breakfast and made plans for lunch so I could work while they explored the city, and as I made my way into the office, I held my head high with pride.

But, for some reason, it felt like people were staring at me.

“Morning,” I said with a nod of my head.

I waved and smiled at people that passed by with their eyes locked on me. The attention was nice. At least, for a little while, it was. However, when I made my way into my office, I saw people peering through the little glass window that spanned the length of my door.

Which got me wondering why in the world they were so curious about me.

“Knock knock,” Brit said.

“Come on in,” I called out.

She quickly slipped inside before closing the door behind her. “Okay, so you gotta tell me what happened.”

I shook my head as I logged into my computer. “No clue what you’re talking about.”

She perched on the edge of my desk. “Everyone is staring you down. You’ve done something. So, care to fill a bitch in on what’s happened?”

And that’s when Kelly burst into my office and closed the door behind her. “Everyone is talking.”

I furrowed my brow. “About what?”

Brit clicked her tongue. “See, I knew there was something. What did you hear?”

Kelly rushed to the chair in front of my desk and scooted it so close that she propped her feet up on the edge of my desk. “Everyone is starting to get very curious about you and Mr. Ryker.”

I blinked. “Why? I haven’t done anything.”

Kelly sighed. “Word around the office is that you keep getting summoned into his office. Someone down in I.T. calculated that you come in and out of his office seventy percent more than any other employee.”

Brit’s eyes widened. “That’s some serious calculation.”

I rolled my eyes. “So, the propeller-heads are bored. What does that have to do with me?”

Kelly picked up her feet and stood up. “I’m inclined to believe them. Mr. Ryker’s secretary says you’re up there all the time. I asked her myself.”

Brit snickered. “Instigator.”

I shook my head. “Seriously, there’s nothing to talk about. It’s not like I go up there because I want to. I mean, he’s an ass, remember? I’m always up there because he always summons me up there. And with his personal accountant still out due to whatever sickness has ailed her for over two weeks now, I’m still on-call twenty-four-seven.”

Kelly leveled her eyes with mine. “Is that all?”

Brit’s eyes widened. “Is the office talking about something else?”

And that’s when I stood to my feet. “Look, I get that people are curious. I’m the new girl and I go up to the big boy’s office a lot. But there’s nothing going on and there’s nothing to be worried about.”

Kelly sighed. “Girl, you gotta get better at lying if you’re going to save face for the office.”

My jaw hit the floor. “I’m not saving face!”

Brit folded her arms across her chest. “I mean, there have been a few things that--.”

I pointed at her. “Don’t you even open that can of worms. We just got our friendship back after you stuck your nose where it didn’t belong.”

“Then, why be so protective of something that isn’t anything?” Kelly asked.

I looked over at Brit for support, but she simply shrugged. “I mean, she’s got a good point.”

I groaned as I flopped back into my office chair. “I just can’t win, can I?”

As the two of them continued talking about office gossip, I tried to stifle my worrying. I wanted to be a better person. A stronger person. I wanted to be that bad bitch that didn’t give a fuck what anyone else thought of her. You know, like my sister had been back in high school. But the more I focused on what I thought was going on, the more it showed me that things were so much different. I focused on the fact that all I wanted to do was worry about my job and fix my past with JoJo. But instead, I had fallen into his web of secrecy and seduction and deceit in order to get close to him to try and fix shit in the first place.

And I liked it a little too much.

“Fuck,” I said with a sigh.

Brit placed her hand on my shoulder. “Look, the office is gonna talk no matter what. Mr. Ryker is a mystery to a lot of us. There are many, many people in this company who have never once had a conversation with him. So, yes, your multiple trips up to his office and all of this overtime looks suspicious to them.”

“But,” Kelly said as she pulled a sucker out of her purse, “you have a very serious job. Only one other person has the job you do, and, like you said, they’re out due to being sick. That’s all they need to know, so that’s what we’ll tell them.”

My head fell back against the leather chair. “But there shouldn’t be anything to tell in the first place.”

Brit squeezed my shoulder. “I know, girl. I know.”

“Why can’t people just keep their nose out of other people’s lives. Did you know that my parents showed up about five minutes after you left this weekend, Brit?”

She gasped. “No, they didn’t.”

I barked with laughter. “Yeah, they did. And not only that, they saw everything.”

Kelly furrowed her brow. “Did I miss something?”

Brit giggled. “Our girl here went spree-shopping at Happy Haven’s, or whatever that place is called.”

Kelly clapped her hands. “Oh, I love that place. Did you get some good stuff? What kind of things did you end up with? Did you buy enough to get some of their free shit? I love their free shit.”

I held up my hand. “It gets so much worse, though.”

Brit paused. “What do you mean?”

I closed my eyes and sighed heavily. “I thought I pulled out my personal credit card, but I ended up pulling out my company card.”

Brit barked with laughter. “No, you didn’t!”

Kelly squealed so loud that I thought the windows would break. “I would’ve been mortified!”

I pressed the heels of my hands into my sore, tired eyes. “So, yeah, I have slightly more important shit on my mind than what the office wants to gossip about this week.”

Brit laughed so hard that tears came to her eyes. “Wait until Mr. Ryker sees that shit.”

Kelly scoffed. “With how much he’s got this company on lockdown, he’s probably already seen it.”

I puffed out my cheeks with yet another sigh. “He saw it and, yes, called me into his office about it. He gave me a very stern lecture on how that could look when audit time comes around, so I took all of my stuff back Sunday afternoon once they opened.”

“Please tell me you kept some of the stuff, though,” Kelly said.

A small smile crossed my face. “I just explained to the woman what happened. I told her I used the wrong card, so I needed to refund that card and then I just paid for everything again with my personal debit card.”

“Oh, thank God,” Brit said, “because you had some awesome stuff in there.”

Kelly wiggled her eyebrows. “Care to fill me in on the stuff?”

“After my parents leave town I’ll have you both over and we can go through everything. I haven’t even opened anything yet. I’m waiting until I know for certain that my parents won’t bust in on me again.”

Brit cackled. “God, what I wouldn’t give to have been there when that happened.”

Kelly laughed hysterically. “I bet they almost shit themselves. Did they give you a lecture? Please tell me they gave you a lecture like you were eleven years old.”

I rolled my eyes. “I hate you both.”

Brit gasped. “Oh! That reminds me! Have you gone on another date with that accountant guy?”

Kelly paused. “Wait, you’re dating? Since when!?”

I scratched the back of my head. “The accountant guy was pretty boring, go figure. But I have been on a couple of dates with this doctor named Michael.”

Brit whistled. “A doctor, huh? Sounds like you’re moving on up in the world.”

“How’s it going with the doctor, then?” Kelly asked.

I shrugged. “It’s okay, I guess. I mean, it’s nice to have company sometimes, but the two of us have such busy schedules that we don’t get much time to talk or see one another.”

Brit slid off the edge of my desk. “Maybe your newfound toys will give you a reason to hit him up.”

Kelly clapped her hands in excitement. “If you use those bad boys, I want to know every single detail.”

“Trust me, we know,” I said with a smirk.

Kelly side-eyed Brit. “You told her, didn’t you?”

Brit balked. “You should see some of the stuff she bought. How could I not!?”

I held out my hand. “All right, all right. Let’s keep it down. We’ve still got people passing by and looking into my office like I’m some sort of freak show.”

“Do you think you’ll see the doctor guy again?” Kelly asked.

“His name’s Michael,” Brit said flatly.

But, I couldn’t lie to them. “I don’t know, honestly. I just--.”

It took me a while to gather the words I wanted to use.

“I’m just having a hard time getting my life in order. Between Tommy and the trial stuff, being overburdened by the amount of work I have to do until Mr. Ryker’s main accountant gets back, and my parents being in town for an undetermined amount of time? It just feels like things are spiraling out of control, and I don’t want to add anymore unknowns to my plate until I can get everything else sorted out.”

Kelly nodded. “That makes sense, actually. Most of my clients come to me because they feel like they’re spiraling, so if they’re going to lose control they might as well choose how they lose it.”

I pointed at her. “I get that train of thought.”

Brit’s eyes filled with sympathy. “Girl, screw the rest of the world. You do what makes you happy. You don’t have to explain yourself to anyone, ever, and if cooping up until this trial shit and everything else goes away is what you need, then we’ll have girls’ nights and sleepovers and we’ll really do it up.”

I smiled softly. “Thanks, guys. I really appreciate it.”

Kelly leaned in playfully. “Does that mean that when we come over, I can see this new stash of yours?”

I grinned. “Duh.”

She pumped her fist into the air. “Yesssss.”

“But,” I said as I turned toward my computer, “I really have to get to work. It’ll be a later day for me today, and I still want to get off with enough time to do dinner with my parents.”

“Good luck with that,” Brit said through her giggles.

Kelly backtracked toward the door. “You just let us know when they leave, and we’ll come over.”

I drew in a deep breath. “Trust me, I will.”

And as they both slipped out of my office, I checked my email for the first time that morning.

It felt nice to be honest with people. It felt nice to admit that I didn’t feel in control of things. But I didn’t have the balls to tell anyone that the only time I felt in control was when JoJo had a grip on me. Figuratively, and literally. Whenever it was just me and him, I felt on top of the world. With his hand wrapped around my throat, I knew my exact purpose and I welcomed it with open arms.

I just didn’t know how to thread that kind of stability throughout my entire life.